Be Kind Katrina, Be Kind........

It's 7:00 pm my time and here I sit thinking/praying for my best friend/business partner who is now sitting in the Superdome in New Orleans waiting for Hurricane Katrina to strike and to do it's damage. She has called me a few times in the last couple of days, always when I'm at work and has spoken to my husband both times. Like a lot of men, his interests/concerns are usually about himself and what is happening in his own little world as he see's it. All of which have have absolutely nothing to do about her or this storm. Thus, increasing my anxiety and leaving all my questions unanswered!

My heart aches..... I have but a handful of people I hold close to my heart (I mentioned her in my previous funeral post). She is one of them and she nears the very top of my list. She is the Godmother of both of my children and though we are very different we compliment each other. I'm scared. I'm scared for her and her husband who have been vacationing there since Friday and I'm scared at the thought of not having her by my side next week.

I am quite sure I will not sleep tonight and I will have Fox News on all night. They continue to show thousands of people entering the Superdome. I search the screen for her face all to no avail. I know she is there. She arrived early around 11:00 am East Coast time and from what I could gather she was in good spirits. However, on the West Coast the news is not good. Katrina has been rated a Category 5, the highest there is, with 175 mile wind warnings.

Damn! I need a drink!! Be kind Katrina, be kind......................

On Life & Death...........

A few weeks ago I attended a funeral in California with a friend. I am not fond of funerals, (I know, who is?) Unless it is someone within my close circle of friends/family, I avoid them. I've never made a practice of attending funerals. Up until this one, I could count the number I've been to on one hand, all relatives, three of which were my parents. I attended this one because my friend needed a friend by her side (and to be honest she caught me off guard and I couldn't come up with an excuse fast enough to say no!)

I suppose as far as funerals go, this one wasn't bad. In fact, it made me think a little more deeply about life and death and those we leave behind. This particular funeral was graveside. The body had been cremated and separated into six containers. This was done because his children were disputing just where the remains should be laid. Four of the six containers were being placed into a family plot that represented three generations of those that had had departed before him, those he have loved. The remaining two were going somewhere yet to be determined.

Funerals exhaust me, especially those of the elderly, and the stories that made up their lives. Since I was not a family member, I hung out in the back watching, and wondering what all these people were thinking. My friends uncle was being buried in the small farming community he grew up in. There were no flowing black dresses or midnight black suits. His family and friends were dressed in their best informal attire, and crisp cream colored cowboys hats were sprinkled amongst the small crowd.

Perhaps it was the 100 degree weather or the down to earth sensible community that promted a speedy service. The speaker summed up this man's life in under 15 minutes. He was a son, a brother, a veteran, a father, an uncle, a friend. You could see proud old men with their hands in their pockets looking down at the ground, hanging tough as their wives sniffled in their seats. They listened intently to the speaker, recalling the stories told and the role they played in those stories. Pictures of his youth and in his military uniform were displayed proudly beside a flag and small toy trains he collected. Nic nacs of his past, memories of his existence.

I went away from this funeral and spent a good part of the five hour drive home thinking about the lives we live and those we encounter along the way. I would like to think that the legacy we leave behind lasts longer then the 15 minutes of our eulogy. Surely, our existence on this earth of 60, 70, 80+ years will leave lasting imprints on someone's soul/heart enough for our memory to linger a little longer.

And in turn, I hope we leave no unfinished business behind. No "I love you's," not said, No "I'm sorry's" unspoken. And perhaps most importantly, I'd like to think we lived the best life we could, a life that left no room for doubt or regrets..........